The Browns didn't want Geno Smith, at least not enough to pick him at No. 6 overall or to swing some kind of trade.

The former West Virginia quarterback doesn't seem the least bit offended as he prepares to face them.

"The Browns came down to Florida and worked me out," Smith said Wednesday. "It was a good chance to meet Rob (Chudzinski) and Norv Turner. They were all great guys.

"Plenty of teams were interested. It was just one of those years quarterbacks weren't in as high of demand."

The first quarterback drafted was E.J. Manuel, who went to the Bills at No. 16 overall. The Browns knocked him out of a game on Oct. 3, which they won 37-24.

Smith was the next passer picked, by the Jets at No. 39. Heading into Sunday's game against Cleveland, he has started all 14 games, going 6-8.

He is in a 1-4 skid, but he is 5-2 at home, having won duels against Tom Brady and Drew Brees. Within his first seven games, he engineered four drives that either got the Jets to overtime or won them in OT.

At 23, he seems confident and well adjusted.

"I feel more comfortable than I felt four or five weeks ago," he said. "You roll with the ups and with the downs.

"Honestly, the guys playing the best at quarterback now are in their 30s."

Smith's taste of Cleveland hasn't been limited to pre-draft visits.

Former Browns first-round pick Brady Quinn was one of his Jets backups for a while, prior to being released on Oct. 21. Two days after the Jets cut Quinn, they signed Josh Cribbs, who was their return man before going on injured reserve Dec. 3.

Wideout David Nelson, who spent training camp with the Browns, hooked up with Smith for 80 receiving yards in a 30-27 win over the Patriots.

Another former Browns first-round pick, tight end Kellen Winslow, is back from a four-game suspension. In the Jets' most recent home game, he caught three of Smith's passes for 61 yards in a win over Oakland.

"He shares stories with us about being with the Browns," Smith said. "He's also one of our better playmakers."

Smith has learned the drill about talking up an opponent.

"I'm working hard to be a productive player," he said. "What better chance than to go out there against a top 10 defense like the Browns."

After Joe Haden left with a hip pointer, the Browns got torched by Washington in the fourth quarter of a 38-31 loss.

Smith calls Haden "one of the best corners in the league." He mispronounced the surname of the other starting corner, Buster Skrine, making it rhyme with "sign" rather than "screen."

Page 2 of 2 - But then, it's not his job to know Browns' names. They didn't want him at the price it would have taken. They spent their No. 6 overall pick on outside linebacker Barkevious Mingo. They lost their second-round pick because they took Josh Gordon in the 2012 supplemental draft.

"We went down and spent time with Geno," Chudzinski said. "I really like him as a person. I really like him as a player.

"He has a lot of things that he can do and do well. It's a process for young quarterbacks to go through, and he's in the middle of the process right now.

"Where we were, we were happy with Barkevious and what he's been able to do."